Family moves to Rome

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Certain documentation is lacking but all other evidence makes it most likely late in this year that Pietro and his family moved from Naples to Rome. Finishing his work at the Certosa di San Martino in Naples (final payment received August 25, 1606), Pietro begins his commission for the Assumption relief for the Borghese chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore (first payments received January 4, 1607).

Domenico, 8, states “In this theater of talent [i.e., the city of Rome], Gian Lorenzo made his first appearance at the age of ten,” yet this cannot be for, as just mentioned, Pietro was already being paid for his work in the Pauline Chapel in January 1607 and hence he and his family must have already been physically present in the city.

By the way, there has been no confirmation of the claim by Fraschetti that Pietro was “presidente” of the Roman Accademia di San Luca from 1605-07, “as is known from the list of ‘presidenti’ of the Accademia preserved in its archives” (Fraschetti, 2. The formal title of the Accademia’s director is in reality “principe.”) There is no entry for Pietro in the database “The History of the Accademia di San Luca, c. 1590–1635: Documents from the Archivio di Stato di Roma” (“A Project of the National Gallery of Art [Washington, DC], Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, in Association with the Archivio di Stato di Roma and the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca”).

Bibliography: Mormando, 2011a, 277n.23.

B’s first work of sculpture?

His first work of sculpture?: Domenico, 3: “Following his father’s example, at the age of eight [B] carved a small marble head of a little putto to the great admiration of Pietro.” Domenico probably heard this story from his own father; since Domenico dates it to the 8th year of B’s life and dates the family’s arrival in Rome to his 10th year, the work was supposedly done in Naples. But is it true? That is, was B only 8 years old at the time? Probably not, but there is no doubt that he was indeed a child prodigy, even if the real manifestations of that prodigy did not begin to show until a later date.

Bernini: Neapolitan? Florentine? Roman?

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–Louis Rouhier engraving of Obeliscus Pamphilius [commemorating the unveiling June 1651 in San Juan book, p. 209, fig 6.10; also in Houghton; cfr scheda] calls him “Gio: Lorenzo Bernino Napoletano” despite years of B’s own Tuscan mythologizing and over 40 years in Rome! 

— in B’s will, calls self “fiorentino & cittadino romano” (Fagiolo/IAP10); actually it is in Latin and in a separate doc ancillary to will in wh B cedes some of his benefices to Francesco: BALQ 53.

–Barsanti ’74 article, “Ancora sul Furini,” cites doc wh says something to effect of “B the neapolitan, or, as he would have it, Florentine” (“Napoletano, o Fiorentino come egli vuole”) (Barsanti, 1974, 3rd art, p. 56 citing Passeri, Vite, Leipzig, 1934, 169): the foregoing quote from Passeri was 1st cited by Haskell, 1980, 34, but the quote is not in Passeri: I checked and checked. So, I simply cited Haskell in my Note 9 to Dom chap 1.

— Bernini as Neapolitan: Baldinucci, 1974-75, 6:362-67: “Nota de’ pittori, scultori et architetti che dall’anno 1640 sino al presente giorno hanno operato lodevolmente nella città e Regno di Napoli.” basically a list with scarse bio data. on p. 363: simply: “Il cavaliere Bernino.”

— B’s satirical comedy of Feb. ’35 is set in Naples (“Le Due Accademie”): NB. one of the few references to B’s hometown in his life & work: he never had any works commissioned down there or sent there!

–BALQ 53: at beg of a legal doc in wh B transfers one of his eccles. benefices to his son Francesco Giuseppe, GLB is identified as “Illustrissimus Dominus Eques Joannis Laurentius Berninus florentinus et civis romanus”.

— Rice, 2015, 190, n.34 (The Pre-Mochi Projects…): an entry in the Archivio Capitolare di San Pietro recording the fact of the full-scale model of Bernini’s preliminary (rejected) design for new Veronica Pier says this “…(inventore Equite Io. Laurentio Bernino Florentino Neapolitano)…” — ie, the Florentino is crossed out with one stroke as here..

Bernini’s siblings

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B’s siblings in order given by Fagiolo/IAP 18 but with mistakes: Terzaghi prints 1609 parish Easter census which gives most of their ages; reprinted by Kessler 2005

6 males:  Giovan Lorenzo, Francesco, Vincenzo, Ignazio, Luigi, Domenico

7? females: Dorotea, Beatrice, Eugenia [d. 1669 Bartoni 2012, 108; named after Caterina’s mom, as per note in Chantelou, e.143], Giuditta, Camilla, [Maria Angelica, Anna Maria: wrong: see your Dom note.] + Agnese (died 1609, Oct: eldest).

–NB on this census there is no “c” (“communicato”) next to Pietro’s name: that means he had not fulfilled his Easter duty (of confession and Holy Communion): not a practicing Catholic?

Parent’s Wedding

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January 17: Pietro Bernini (of Sesto Fiorentino, Tuscany) weds Angelica Galante (of Naples) in a house ceremony in Naples. Very little is known of his bridge; according to their marriage license, Angelica is only ca. 12 years old. Pietro is 25 years old (born 1562). In the marriage documentation, Pietro’s last name is spelled “Barnini.”

They will go on to have 13 children (in order of birth): Agnese, Emiliana, Dorotea, Eugenia, Giuditta, Gian Lorenzo, Camilla (named after Pietro’s mother), Beatrice, Francesco, Vincenzo, Luigi, Ignazio, and Domenico.

Bibliography: Mormando, 2011a, 271-72n. 6; 272n.8.